“The San Blas-Canillejas Butterfly Oasis, with an area of 55,000 square meters, has recorded around 50 different species of flowers that attract a wide variety of butterflies and other pollinating insects, and is also the habitat of sparrows and goldfinches and tree species such as holm oaks, elms and poplars. “It is a natural space much appreciated by the neighbors.” This is how the city hall of José Luis Martínez-Almeida announced the arrival of the Butterfly Oasis, an initiative located next to the Carlos Llamas roundabout and a few meters from Luis Aragonés Avenue and the Metropolitan Stadium. Two years later, the environment has become an immense mountain of sand.
In just 25 months, all that remains of this oasis is a concrete block surrounded by several fences (some laid on the ground) where you can read graffiti painted during the inauguration with the words “urban forest” and, in smaller letters, “total inclusion”. The butterflies drawn on them are the only flying insects in the place. The rabbits that move in the undergrowth at certain ends of the field, the last example of wild nature of an enclave transformed into an improvised deposit of the sand moved in the works of the Sports City of Atlético de Madrid.
The land is not included in the project presented by the mattress club, but it has been used to transport construction debris and store excavated materials. The council also did not warn that it was going to bury what is known as the Bosque de Carlos Llamas. The total number of trees affected by the work is unknown, although among the specimens of the former “urban forest” were holm oaks, elms and poplars, according to the press release published at the time by the City Hall. Afterwards, the council celebrated that, thanks to the intervention, “a greener, friendlier and more habitable neighborhood” had been achieved.
In the reconstruction of the final state of the nearby Ciudad del Deporte after the works, the missing oasis occupied the green space at the top left. “The cut is marked by the access to the M-40, in the northern area of the project and before the A-2,” explains Ricardo (pseudonym), a resident of Canillejas, who was the first to warn of the burial of the trees.
Ricardo tells Somos Madrid that the space “has never been very well maintained” since its inauguration, which was attended by former Ciudadanos councilors Silvia Saavedra (now hired by Almeida as director general of mayors) and Martín Casariego, then mayor of the district. Also two people dressed as butterflies. According to Ricardo, the block was incorporated with the inscription “urban forest” and an exhibition was added with information about these animals: “They did nothing except give the name.” Beyond that, it remained “a blank space where people walked or took their dogs.”
But from June onwards, the site began to change radically: “In June, they started bringing in earth daily with trucks and they cut down trees. “They said they were going to build a park or a green space, something that already existed, but now we see that there is only a mountain of sand because of the work of Atlético de Madrid.”
In this project, the Sports City, the Almeida team gave 205,000 square meters to the club chaired by Enrique Cerezo for 75 years in exchange for 53 million euros. An investment of more than 200 million euros, but mainly intended for the private use of the red and white team with several structures around the Metropolitan: a leisure center, an artificial beach and even a hypothetical university.
According to data published by Somos Madrid, of the total investment, Atlético de Madrid will only dedicate 53 million to investments with public return. The majority of this money will be used for road access to the new facilities, which will mainly benefit the red and white club itself. The City Council considers that the transfer until the end of the century is offset by this investment, so the entity chaired by Cerezo will not have to pay any amount in cash as a fee for the use of the plots.
Before, there were natural paths. It was a space that was regenerating and there was more and more vegetation even if the City Hall had only placed the mural that informed about butterflies.
The 205,000 square meters transferred were not included in the butterfly paradise plot, which was also eventually affected. “Before, there were natural paths. It was a space that was regenerating and there was more and more vegetation even though the City Council had only placed the mural that informed about butterflies,” explains Ricardo.
It is not just a natural loss, but other inconveniences are generated: “When there is wind, the sand enters the houses, as in the last storm that hit Madrid last month. In general, the streets have more sand than before and are much dirtier.”
Ricardo asks the city council a question: “Is it going to stay like this?” He points out that in July he wrote to the local executive about this and to date he has not received any response. This newspaper has also tried to get a response from the municipality on the reasons for the destruction of the oasis or on the possible new location, without so far getting a response from any of its areas.
The Zerynthia association, responsible for the butterfly oasis project throughout the country, confirmed to this newspaper that the one in Canillejas has been razed to its original location: “They are going to build something there, but the area of the butterfly oasis is going to be destroyed.” reorient. We have people working there with the city council to advise them on the restructuring, but they want to keep it.
